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Publicis Acquires Performics From Google

French advertising company Publicis Group has acquired the Performics Search Marketing business from Google. Performics housed more than 200 search marketing specialists and since its 1998 inceptions has expanded from Chicago, San Francisco, New York, London, Hamburg, Sydney, to Singapore and Beijing.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Publicis, the parent of Starcom MediaVest Group, Zenith Optimedia Group, Digitas, Denuo, and agencies such as Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi, said Chicago-based Performics would be integrated into Publicis’ new VivaKi Nerve Center. […] Google did not comment on the reasons for its divestiture of the unit, but in a statement, Chairman-CEO Eric Schmidt said, “We look forward to working with Performics as a partner.”

Publicis has been “cooperating” with Google for more than a year, but we’re not exactly sure what that means — mostly because the companies didn’t reveal any details in a cryptic press conference in January. They did say that “Google would exchange its technological know-how for Publicis’s analytical and media planning expertise,” according to Reuters. We’re assuming this deal won’t have an effect on their prior relationship.

So why would a Search Company giant sell of part of their search services? After Google acquired DoubleClick, the SEM portion created a “conflict of interest” for a search company to own a search engine marketing company under a different entity. Google just took on the Affiliate Marketing division of Performics and sold the rest to to Publicis.

A great move by Google, but I think everyone is asking the same question: “At what cost?”